Airports: Drinking Water

Lord Monson: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 21 January (WA 202), whether they will oblige commercial passenger aircraft using United Kingdom airports to provide drinking water free of charge for as long as there are restrictions on the volume of liquids that departing passengers may carry through customs and passport control.

Lord Adonis: The restrictions on carrying liquids are Europe-wide. Some airlines sell bottled water as part of a model to keep ticket prices low. All aircraft carry potable (drinking) water in their tanks and this is usually available to passengers on request.

Airports: Landing Slots

Lord Clinton-Davis: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultations they have had about the use of current take-off and landing slots at United Kingdom airports in general, and Heathrow in particular.

Lord Adonis: The allocation of take-off and landing slots at UK airports is governed by European Union regulations. The Department for Transport (DfT) has consulted previously on issues about the implementation of the regulations in the UK, including in 2005 on sanctions against airlines that misuse slots.
	The department currently has one live consultation on airport slot issues, concerning whether or not to designate London City Airport as co-ordinated under the EU regulations. The consultation document is available from the DfT website at www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/londoncityconsulation/. Later this year, the department also intends to consult on the green slots principle for allocating slots created by new runway capacity at Heathrow Airport, as announced in the Secretary of State's Statement on Britain's transport infrastructure to the House of Commons on 15 January 2009.

Airports: Water Supply

Lord Monson: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have consulted the Chief Medical Officer on the health and safety implications of airline passengers not having free access to (a) drinking water, and (b) lavatories, on flights.

Lord Adonis: All aircraft carry potable (drinking) water in their tanks and this is usually available to passengers on request. We have no knowledge of any UK airline planning to charge for access to the lavatories.

Aviation: BMI

Lord Clinton-Davis: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have been consulted about the proposed take-over of BMI by Lufthansa.

Lord Adonis: The Department for Transport is aware of the proposed acquisition and has been informed about the discussions. I understand that the airlines have also consulted the Civil Aviation Authority about how to ensure that various legal requirements could be met.

Education: Home Schooling

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Morgan of Drefelin on 25 February (WA 87), whether the guaranteed unit of funding applies to children who are being home-educated under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996; and, if not, what sum is on average paid to local authorities in respect of such children.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Morgan of Drefelin on 25 February (WA 87), whether the guaranteed unit of funding applies to children who are being home-educated under Section 19(4) of the Education Act 1996; and, if not, what sum is on average paid to local authorities in respect of such children.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The guaranteed unit of funding (GUF) would not be paid to young persons who are being home educated. Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 requires parents to secure education of children of compulsory school age either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. Home tuition would be a decision by a parent and no GUF would be paid in respect of such children. No other funding would be payable either by the department to the local authority.
	The GUF would not be paid to local authorities for pupils under Section 19(4) of the 1996 Education Act as this section refers to young persons (not of compulsory school age), However Section 19(1) is a similar section for children of compulsory school age and GUF could be paid to a local authority where the authority has financial responsibility for such pupils. If the LA has financial responsibility and makes exceptional provision for the pupil to be home educated then the LA could claim the GUF. This is, however, likely to be a very exceptional circumstance as Section 19(2B) makes it clear that LAs can set up pupil referral units which are schools specially organised to provide education for children referred to in Section 19(1).

Embassies

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many staff were employed in their embassy in Dublin on 1 January of each of the past five years.

Lord Davies of Oldham: On 1 January for each of the past five years the following numbers of staff served at our embassy in Dublin:
	
		
			 2009 53 of whom 15 are UK civil servants 
			 2008 57 (13 UK civil servants) 
			 2007 60 (15 UK civil servants) 
			 2006 60 (17 UK civil servants) 
			 2005 59 (17 UK civil servants). 
		
	
	We keep staffing numbers under close review and adjust them according to business needs and strategic priorities.

Energy: Nabucco Gas Pipeline

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support the Nabucco Southern Asia pipeline as a means of reducing dependence on other routes.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The UK sees diversity of sources of supply as vital for its own and the EU's energy security. The Russia-Ukraine gas dispute in January 2009 underlined the importance of the EU being supplied with gas from a wide range of countries. The development of a southern corridor, with the aim of bringing gas from the Caspian Region via Turkey to the EU, is crucial to that end.
	The UK fully supports Nabucco as a key element in the development of a southern corridor for gas and continues to engage actively with EU partners and countries in the region to help make the concept a reality. The UK will continue to emphasise its importance at this month's European Council as well as work closely with supply countries in the region on a bilateral basis.
	The European Commission's second strategic energy review of November 2008 affirmed the importance of a southern corridor as one of the EU's highest energy priorities and accordingly the importance of increasing high level political engagement with potential gas supplier countries, such as Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. The European Commission and current Czech presidency have already signalled their intention to make this a priority for 2009 and the UK will also be working closely with them.

Energy: Wind Farms

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government in view of the targets of other European countries, whether they plan to increase the United Kingdom wind farm generation coefficients destined for the national grid.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: I assume that the Question relates to the number of new wind farms that might be needed in order to meet the UK's share of the EU target of 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020. The UK's share of the target is likely to be 15 per cent. There are no specific targets relating to wind farms.
	Over the summer we consulted on a wide range of possible measures to meet our share of the target, including further development of wind power. We will publish a finalised renewable energy strategy in the spring in the light of consultation responses.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Returns and Reintegration Fund

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the remit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Returns and Reintegration Fund; which parties are covered by it; and which countries of return are covered by the fund.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Returns and Reintegration Fund aims to increase the number of failed asylum seekers and foreign national prisoners who are returned to their country of origin and helps to tackle illegal immigration to the UK. It delivers projects in overseas countries which face challenges in accepting back and reintegrating their nationals; provides rehabilitation and reintegration assistance to individuals who return voluntarily; and helps improve the process of removal from the UK.
	The fund began on 1 April 2008 and is a pooled fund, comprising the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Department for International Development, Ministry of Justice and UK Borders Agency financial resources and expertise, managed by the FCO.
	Projects are identified with overseas governments and/or by government departments which are party to the fund. At the end of 2008, we were financing or had in development 83 projects in a wide range of countries to which the UK is returning people.

Gaza

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relevance of the issue of The Lancet of 5 March headed "Health in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" to the ending of military occupation and the restoration of full access to Gaza.

Lord Davies of Oldham: It is vital that aid reaches the people in Gaza who need it. The UK has been consistent in its calls for better humanitarian access to the area. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary has raised the issue with Isaac Herzog, the Israeli Minister responsible for humanitarian access to Gaza. He reiterated the need for better humanitarian access to Gaza, at the Gaza conference at Sharm el-Sheikh on 2 March 2009.

Human Rights

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government (a) by what standards, (b) in what way, and (c) by whom, a country's human rights record is assessed before the Government's foreign policy towards that country is developed.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The promotion of democracy and human rights is core Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) business. It underpins everything that we do. Key to that is working to ensure that international agreements and standards such as UN conventions and UN resolutions on human rights are translated into action on the ground.
	Human Rights are mainstreamed throughout the FCO and are essential in the delivery of our four strategic goals: combating terrorism, prevention and resolution of conflict, promoting a high growth, low-carbon global economy and strengthening institutions such as the UN, EU and the Commonwealth.
	The process of developing foreign policy is an ongoing exercise and involves consideration of a range of factors, including human rights. Business planning also helps us deliver our overall foreign policy objectives. In assessing a country's progress in complying with and implementing international human rights standards, we draw on a wide range of sources. We work with other governments and stakeholders including civil society, to promote human rights overseas. Ministers, officials and embassies around the world are involved in developing and implementing foreign policy including work on international human rights.

Israel

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support a comprehensive arms embargo against Israel; and whether they will carry out an investigation into whether United Kingdom components have been used in Israeli drones.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Palestinians and the Israelis both need peace and our policies are designed to help them achieve it.
	We do not judge that a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, which would diminish our ability to engage with one party to the negotiations, supports that goal. However, we will continue strictly to assess all arms exports—to Israel or any other country—against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. That will include looking in detail at the types of weapons used and the conduct of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) during Operation "Cast Lead".
	Regarding the use of UK supplied components by the Israeli Defence Forces during the recent conflict, the position is as set out by my honourable friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Bill Rammell, to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 4 March 2009. He confirmed that the Government were making an assessment of what equipment used by the IDF might have been supplied from the UK. When this assessment is completed the main findings will be relayed to Parliament.

Pakistan: Military Equipment

Lord Selkirk of Douglas: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Ministry of Defence is supplying military equipment to the Pakistan armed services.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The MoD provides military advice and assistance to Pakistan, as it does with many countries worldwide, as part of normal defence relations.

Schools: Foreign Languages

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the commitment in the national languages strategy to introduce a statutory entitlement to foreign language learning for all pupils at key stage 2 from 2010 still applies.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The entitlement to foreign language learning from 2010 has always been non-statutory and still applies. The findings from the National Foundation for Educational Research's second interim report on language learning at key stage 2, published in June 2008, showed that 84 per cent of schools were providing primary languages within class time and 54 per cent were providing it for all four year groups at key stage 2. The final report will be published in summer 2009.
	Building on the non-statutory entitlement, languages will be a statutory part of the curriculum at key stage 2 from 2011.

Schools: Foreign Languages

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of language competence amongst primary school teachers; and what plans are in place to expand and develop it by the time compulsory languages are made part of the key stage 2 curriculum.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: Research has shown that there is a training need within the primary workforce that should be met to enable the workforce to deliver compulsory language learning from 2011. We have therefore put in place a range of measures to boost the primary school teaching workforce to prepare for this. In total nearly 5,000 trainees will have undergone the primary initial teacher training (ITT) course in a languages specialism by the end of the 2008-09 academic year. More trainees will be funded for this course, including a projected 900 in 2009-10.
	The Training and Development Agency for Schools has also been piloting this year, in partnership with 10 ITT providers, additional routes to boost the primary workforce teaching languages. Over the next few years, some 2,500 trainees will go through these courses. About one-third of these will be postgraduate trainees and two-thirds undergraduate trainees.
	Teachers can also be supported through the increased funding we have given through local authorities to support the delivery of primary languages—£32.5 million in 2008-09 and the same amount in 2009-10. Schools can use this for a variety of purposes, including to pay for in-service training for teachers and teaching assistants. CILT, the National Centre for Languages, also runs training courses for local authority staff and schools.

Trees

Lord Bates: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to object to the felling licence for trees in Longridge Woods, Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: An application for a licence to fell 1,461 trees at Coulby Newham was received by the Forestry Commission on 22 December 2008. Following a public consultation on the proposal the commission is now deciding whether or not to grant a licence and what, if any, conditions should apply if a licence is granted.

Turkey: EU Membership

Lord Rea: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the findings and recommendations of the report by the delegation of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers which visited Turkey in 2008, entitled Conditions of Detention in Turkey: Blocking Admission to the EU.

Lord Davies of Oldham: We note the findings and recommendations of this February 2009 report.
	As noted in the most recent EU regular report, overall prison conditions need to continue to improve in Turkey, including in F-type (high security) prisons. Turkey is required to meet EU standards across all areas prior to accession.
	Recent initiatives to improve prison conditions taken by the Turkish Government include the establishment of a sub-committee to investigate ill treatment in all prisons and detention centres. A judicial modernisation and penal reform programme is also being implemented by the Turkish Ministry of Justice and the Council of Europe, with funding from the EU. We also continue to urge Turkey to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) and to take action against impunity.

West Bank

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that any illegal settlements under international law in the West Bank are handed to the Palestinian Authority or are dismantled.

Lord Davies of Oldham: We have long made it clear to the Israeli Government that any Israeli settlement activity is not only illegal under international law, it is also in contravention of Israel's obligations under the road map agreement and detrimental to the peace plan. At Annapolis, in November 2007, Israel recommitted to freeze all settlement activity and immediately dismantle settlement outposts erected since March 2001.
	My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary voiced strong opposition to illegal Israeli settlements during his visit to the region on 16 to 19 November 2008. My honourable friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Bill Rammell, also raised the issue during his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 21 to 23 December 2008. We have done so on many other occasions.